NYC KIDS RISE

Community Engagement Associate - Mandarin

Job Description
 

About NYC Kids RISE:
Over the last decade, NYC Kids RISE has been working alongside partners in government, philanthropy, business and communities to build a universal wealth building platform for New York City neighborhoods. The Program expands access to mainstream financial products; builds individual, family, and collective financial assets; provides financial education for families and students; and brings schools and communities together to support all their children’s futures. The Save for College Program’s model is intended to drive neighborhood-level changes in economic opportunity and mobility by building individual and collective financial assets, reinforcing college- and career-going expectations, and strengthening social capital, networks, and infrastructure in neighborhoods across New York City.

Next school year, nearly every elementary public school student in New York City will have an NYC Scholarship Account invested in a 529 college savings plan, regardless of income or immigration status. From there, each year moving forward ~75,000 children will be added until nearly all  ~1 million NYC Public school students have Accounts. In 2030, the very first students who received NYC Scholarship Accounts by  participating in the Program’s pilot in Queens will be graduating high school.   Currently, more than 380,000 students have NYC Scholarship Accounts with more than ~$85 million designated for their educational futures. 

This past June the City announced an historic investment towards our vision increasing the initial seed amount for kindergartners from $100 to $1000. The Administration has also included the Program in the Mayor’s Housing Plan calling for philanthropic partners to invest directly into the Accounts of students living in NYCHA developments. At the same time, NYC Public Schools has launched efforts to further integrate the Program as a tool for college and career readiness, strengthening school community ties and financial education & empowerment across ~1000 elementary schools. With a national, state, and local bipartisan recognition of the power of early wealth building and our infrastructure in place, there is a window of tremendous opportunity to realize a bold vision for NYC kids.

Learn more about NYC Kids RISE at nyckidsrise.org

Position Summary:

NYC Kids RISE seeks a highly organized, and detail-oriented Community Engagement Associate (Mandarin) with strong communication skills to join our Parent Foundations team and support the execution of our direct parent engagement strategy. The ideal candidate will engage participating families, help them understand the Save for College Program and its benefits, and support families to complete the foundational steps, with a special focus on understanding savings account options and opening their own savings accounts. Community Engagement Associates will also educate parents about different opportunities to continue to engage with their savings accounts including different ways and moments to save and provide appropriate referrals to supportive services. 

APPLICANTS MUST BE BILINGUAL IN ENGLISH AND MANDARIN.

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

• Becoming fluent in Save for College Program and college savings account materials in order to be able to present this information in a variety of settings, answer parent questions and work 1:1 with parents
• Conducting direct outreach to participating parents in person, via phone, text and / or email in order to explain the program and engage them to complete the foundational steps and move down the scale of engagement with the Program
• Delivering presentations about the Save for College Program and facilitating informational workshops
• Providing one-on-one navigational and technical support for parents/guardians in viewing their scholarship accounts, opening and linking their own college savings accounts and making deposits
• Staffing the NYC Kids RISE Hotline in order to answer the questions of participating parents and other stakeholders as well as help them sign up for workshops and complete key program steps
• Staffing Save for College Program events including supporting the logistics of prep, execution and follow up
• Ensuring timely follow up and excellent customer service to participating parents including appropriate referrals to other services
• Working on administrative and logistical projects that support the execution of the direct parent engagement strategy, including sending text messages to Program families 
• Providing feedback and generating new ideas for ways that NYC Kids RISE can support parents to understand the program and complete the foundational steps
• Representing NYC Kids RISE in interactions with a variety of community stakeholders such as school and community based organization partners
• Completing timely data entry to ensure all interactions with participating parents and other key data points such as workshop attendance and hotline calls are captured in NYC Kids RISE’s database 
• Along with all NYC Kids RISE employees, maintaining, and supporting other staff and volunteers to maintain strict adherence to NYC Kids RISE data security and privacy policies; remaining vigilant on the ways in which NYC Kids RISE can continue to protect Confidential Information (including Student and Family Data); and
• Along with all NYC Kids RISE employees, participating and sharing in the organization’s work to advance racial equity and anti-oppression in the organization’s and program’s operations and practices; proactively identify opportunities to advance the development of an anti-racist organization; share and solicit ongoing feedback and conversations to advance this work.

Requirements:

• Bilingual in English and Mandarin (Required)
• 2-4 years of related work experience 
• Interest in or previous work experience in financial empowerment and / or college and career readiness, and / or community organizing
• Ability to lead presentations, and facilitate workshops or events in English and Mandarin
• Strong oral and written communications skills
• Proficiency in MS/Google Suite
• Familiarity with Client Relationship Management databases
• Proficiency in Zoom / Google Meet / MS Teams or other video meeting or webinar technology
• Availability for some evening, early morning, and weekend events;

Preferred Skills:

• Ability to break down complex concepts in a way that is easy to understand in English and Mandarin
• Ability to walk someone through the technical aspects of a registration, enrollment or application process in English and Mandarin
• Previous experience with project management

NYC Kids RISE currently maintains a hybrid work environment where staff work both from home and in the office, as determined by the staff member's preferences as well as the needs of our organization and the specific responsibilities of individual roles and teams. Our offices are based in Long Island City (Queens, NY). 

To apply, a cover letter and resume are required. Please list the name of the position, “Community Engagement Associate - Mandarin." Salary is $75,000 annually.

NYC Kids Rise is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in employment on the basis of basis of gender, religion, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, marital status, caregiver status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, unemployed status, or any other characteristic protected by law.